Hansard

I am grateful for the opportunity to open this important debate, particularly in light of last week’s delayed report by Public Health Scotland.

I pay tribute to all Scotland’s care workers, who have been at the forefront of protecting some of the most vulnerable people in our society. We thank those who work in a care home, those who deliver care at home and those who simply look after a relative or friend for all that they do and all that they continue to do.

The unpredictable nature of Covid-19, especially in the early stages of the pandemic—in March and April this year—has created significant challenges for the care sector, but those at the front line have been quick to adapt to the new reality that we face. Protecting those who receive care must always be at the forefront of our minds, but I am afraid to say that it is clear that significant and costly mistakes have been made during the year. The Scottish National Party Government has made mistakes that may have cost lives.

At the heart of the detailed report from Public Health Scotland that was released last week was confirmation that 113 Covid-positive patients were sent from hospitals to care homes and 3,061 patients were discharged into care homes without being tested at all. We also know that, since the start of the pandemic, there have been, as of today, 2,048 deaths from coronavirus in our care homes, and that, as of 28 October, 134 adult care homes had a current case of suspected Covid-19.

Those are serious and concerning figures. Every death from the virus is, of course, a terrible tragedy. However, there is a lot that remains unknown. We do not yet know the number of positive tests from care homes that suffered outbreaks after receiving a Covid-positive patient or the number of positive tests from care home staff. We do not yet know when precisely the First Minister became aware that Covid-positive patients were transferred from hospitals to care homes and what action she took to investigate that. Those are serious questions that require serious and urgent answers.

Politicians of all political stripes have demanded clarity on numerous occasions from the First Minister, the Cabinet Secretary for Health and Sport and public bodies such as Public Health Scotland. It is regrettable that those answers have not often been forthcoming. The Government’s failure to protect Scotland’s most vulnerable people is a scandal—I do not shrink from describing it in that way.

It is clear to us and to others in the chamber that only an immediate public inquiry will hold ministers to account and give grieving families the answers that they deserve. I know what the cabinet secretary will say to that call—indeed, it is in her amendment. She says that it is not the time and that we must wait until this is over and it is reasonably practicable to do that. However, the simple reality is that we do not know when this will all be over. We are currently experiencing a second wave, and we may—regrettably—have a third wave. That could be a matter of months or another year from now—we do not know. While we wait, the families of those who died in our care homes will get no answers and no closure. We owe it to them to get those answers now, not later. It is precisely because the virus has not gone away that we need to get to the bottom of what went wrong.

There is no reason to delay. We can set the wheels in motion today. We can decide terms of reference and appoint key personnel. Crucially, we can start to in-gather evidence. All that takes time. If committees of the Parliament or the chamber can operate virtually or in a hybrid function, so can an inquiry. If court trials in Scotland can now—as of today—operate as they used to do before the pandemic, so can an inquiry operate.

I want to cover a few other aspects that the report covers. The report provided particularly damning evidence on the guidance that led to Covid-positive patients being transferred into our care homes. We know now that the SNP Government did not change that guidance until 26 April. Its original guidance of 13 March advised that, although

“long term care facilities have expressed concern about the risk of admissions from a hospital setting ... the priority is maximising hospital capacity”

and

“steps should be taken to ensure ... that flows out from acute hospitals are not hindered and where appropriate are expedited.”

We know that it was not until 21 April that the cabinet secretary announced to Parliament that Covid-19 patients who were discharged from hospital should have given two negative tests. It then took almost another month before any mention was made of the testing of non-Covid hospital patients.

Mention is often made of hindsight. I have always accepted that in March and April we needed the capacity in the national health service to deal with an influx of Covid-19 admissions. However, even then, any movement of hospital patients into care homes had to be done safely, especially given the virulence and speed of Covid-19 infection and particularly because care homes are the abode of many elderly people who are especially vulnerable. That had to be done safely, but it was not.